Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles Every distillery has a piece of equipment that tells you what kind of place it is. At Saburomaru, that piece of equipment…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles I had visited Saburomaru Distillery in my mind a hundred times before I finally made it there in January 2026. I had…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness It was raining lightly. Oshima-san stood at the still, took the first cut, held it to his nose, then put the tiniest amount on his tongue. “59.5% now. A little low.” He…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness I picked up a glass at a whisky event and took a sip. I could not move. The whisky was so complete — so elegantly refined — that I needed a moment…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness Once a year, Ardbeg releases its annual limited bottling for Ardbeg Day — the final day of the Feis Ile festival on Islay. The 2026 bottling is called DOLCE. It has a…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness When visitors arrive at Bar Little Happiness and ask for a local whisky, the answer always starts the same way: Sakurao Distillery. Not just because it’s local — the distillery is less…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness Four hours by car from Shizuoka station, into the South Alps. Past several dams counting down toward the end of their useful lives. Past geological drama — a landslide section with a…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness Japanese whisky conversation often focuses on the bold and the smoky. But among Japan’s great distilleries, one consistently rewards those who slow down: Miyagikyo. What Makes Miyagikyo Different Founded by Masataka Taketsuru…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness In 2003, approximately 400 casks of Hanyu whisky — some nearly 20 years old — were scheduled for destruction. The new owner of Hanyu Distillery was exiting the whisky business. Ichiro Akuto…
Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness There were maybe 15 people in the room. A small JICA-affiliated lecture somewhere in Japan, around 2016 or 2017. The man speaking had left Japan, gone to Laos, cleared raw jungle, planted…